Planes of German air carrier Lufthansa are parked at Frankfurt airport in Frankfurt, Germany. File photo: REUTERS/KAI PFAFFENBACH
The Bloomberg EMEA Airlines Index sank as much as 12%, the biggest decline since March 2020. British Airways parent IAG was down 11% as of 9.08am in London, while Lufthansa, Ryanair and Air France-KLM registered drops of similar magnitude. The emerging virus strain first identified in SA has alarmed health officials across the world, suggesting more countries could shutter borders. Israel and Singapore have also curbed access, while the EU “emergency brake” allows EU member countries to act quickly to limit risks. Airlines, one of the industries hardest hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, have been slowly building back capacity since June, with a focus on shorter regional flights as countries started to lift border restrictions.
Airline shares tumbled the most since the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, after European countries banned flights from South Africa to slow the spread of an emerging virus strain. Graphic: BLOOMBERG The measures mark the biggest change in the UK’s Covid-19 travel rules since the so-called traffic light system was overhauled earlier in the autumn to ease border crossings. Virgin Atlantic Airways had a London-bound flight from Johannesburg in the air when the news of the red-list came through on Thursday night, a spokesperson said. Officials instructed people coming off the overnight flight to self isolate, a spokesperson said.